Eleven years ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan. The company has taken more than 500,000 deposits for the Model 3, Musk said at a press conference early Friday, although he pleaded with reporters not to read too much into that number. 鈥淲e did everything we could to unsell the car,鈥?he said. Musk describes the Model 3 production ramp as an S curve: slow growth in the beginning, followed by a rapid rise and a plateau. As he has done in the past, Musk noted that vehicle production can move only as quickly as its slowest supplier can deliver parts. About 60 percent of the car comes from the U.S., with 30 percent coming from outside North America and 10 percent from Canada and Mexico. 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 sandbagging a lot,鈥?Musk said. 鈥淏ut we inherit force majeure risk from everywhere else in the world: floods, fires, tornadoes, sinking ships鈥攜ou name it. Still, Tesla鈥檚 engineers and designers worked together to strip out unnecessary parts and to simplify production. Musk said a yearly production rate of 250,000 Model 3s can be built in the same factory square footage as can turn out 50,000 Model S sedans, and he promised further improvements over time.
The main benefit of i-Cockpit is that all models get a 9.7-inch touchscreen display right in the middle of the dashboard, because it鈥檚 the only way to control things such as the air-conditioning and radio. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and you even get satellite navigation included. The Peugeot鈥檚 engine provides punchy performance, and thanks to its three-cylinder layout, it has an entertaining exhaust note as well. At the track the motor helped it to sprint from 0-60mph in 9.8 seconds, which was 1.6 seconds faster than the Corolla and one second behind the Volkswagen. Our in-gear tests showed that it performs well in the higher gears, thanks to its extra ratio. The 308 took 7.4 seconds to go from 50-70mph in fifth, 0.3 seconds faster than the Golf. While the Corolla can鈥檛 be compared directly due to its CVT box, at full throttle it covered 50-70mph in 7.2 seconds. A kerbweight of 1,204kg makes the 308 the lightest model here, which partly explains its strong performance, but this lightness has benefits to ride and handling as well. The Peugeot rides smoothly for the most part, but its chassis is more shaken by harsh bumps, especially mid-corner.
The Corolla and Golf both have more composure here. But the French hatchback鈥檚 quick steering and small steering wheel mean it turns in sharply, and there鈥檚 enough grip to support that. The steering has a more satisfying weight than the Golf and Corolla鈥檚 set-ups, but it鈥檚 similarly devoid of feedback, while the other models鈥?composure over rough roads means they ultimately inspire more confidence on a country route than the Peugeot. It鈥檚 close, though; all three cars score highly for ride and handling. Fold the rear seats down and the 308 has more space than both rivals, with 1,309 litres available. But the difference in reality isn鈥檛 vast, and all three models will have enough room for a typical trip to Ikea, for example. There鈥檚 not much trade-off in the back seats, either, because you get a good amount of head and legroom in the rear. Still, the Golf has a bit more space and has more accommodating seats as well. The Corolla鈥檚 rear-seat space is about on par with the 308鈥檚, but the French model is a little easier to get in and out of because the doors open wide.
In our Driver Power 2018 satisfaction survey Peugeot finished 17th in both the manufacturer and dealer categories, which is toward the bottom of the table and a disappointing result for the brand. Toyota ranked 12th and third respectively in our annual poll, while Volkswagen came in fifth overall out of 26 in the makers鈥?chart, but its garages trailed in 18th place out of 28 marques. The 308 also drops behind its rivals for safety kit, because autonomous emergency braking is 拢400 as part of the Drive Assist pack, which also adds adaptive cruise control (both are standard on the other cars). You have to pay for lane-keep assist as well; this is included with the Corolla, but the Golf also misses out on this technology as standard. The Peugeot 308 managed a poor 38.5mpg on our test, which places it well behind the Toyota and VW for economy. At current fuel prices, that works out at an annual petrol cost of 拢1,700 in the 308, while the Golf will set you back 拢1,562 and you鈥檒l spend 拢1,478 a year at the pumps with the Corolla.
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